I have been wanting some shelves hung in the corner of my family room where I have my computer and art supplies for some time now. This project has never been number one on our list of things to do but we finally carved out some time for it this weekend and I am so pleased!

We started with a blank wall. I had a portrait of my boys hanging on this wall but it needed to be moved. This particular corner of the house receives a lot of direct sunlight and that is very bad for pictures and paintings. They fade and as far as I know that cannot be repaired. I vacuumed and wiped down the wall before my hubby began measuring, etc.

Hubby is holding the shelf up against the wall for me to eye the lowest level that works for me.

Once I decide on the placement he marks it with a pencil.

First shelf up with only one screw holding it in place so level can be determined.

Once the first shelf is in place the other two are spaced out and centered above it.

Always check that the shelving is level. It is worth doing more than once…you don’t want to have to take all the screws out and re-level the shelf. It is time-consuming and frustrating.

Second shelf is up and level. 🙂

Third shelf up and it all looks pretty good.

Place my collectibles and tchotchkes onto shelving and snap some pics. I am a happy girl.

I am a fan of Beatrix Potter figurines.

I hope everyone has had a great Columbus Day weekend. Plenty of family time or shopping or whatever makes you happy.

I found the article below on Yahoo! News and thought it interesting enough to post here. Many thanks to the ladies who came before us, suffered indignation, abuse and assault, and secured our right to vote.

93 years ago this month, American women won the right to vote. But not before they were ridiculed and vilified.

Throughout history, there were people who did not want women to vote. Women would work, they would pay taxes, they would technically be considered citizens… but voting was for men. In America, when the right to vote was extended to include all races, all social positions, and all incomes, women were still not included. It didn’t matter if a man was illiterate, had been to jail, or if he was the town drunk. He could vote, and a woman, no matter who she was, could not.

Women suffragists (suffragettes) began campaigning in democratic countries all over the world to change this, starting in the mid-19th century. Their campaigns were largely peaceful and dignified… at least by 21st century standards. But by 19th century standards, these women were abhorrent and indecent, making fools of themselves by demanding to be treated like men.

One of the most notable things about the arguments put forth by the anti-suffragette movement was how weak its position was. Anti-suffragette arguments relied heavily on emotional manipulation and downright hateful nastiness. Humor was a much-used weapon against suffragettes. They were easy to depict as embittered old maids, brutal scolds, and cigar-smoking transvestites.

August 18 will mark the 93rd anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed American women the right to vote.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I bet there aren’t any readers here who can say they met Mr. Peanut and had a look at the peanut mobile. I know, I am a lucky girl :).

I was on my way to the supermarket and much to my surprise there was a massive peanut parked outside the store. Evan was with me and we had quite a laugh, it was really funny and kind of cool. So, we park the car and hop out to go into the store and I remarked to Evan that if the peanut mobile was still there when we came out I wanted a picture of him in front of it.

At first he balked, no way, that was waaaaayyyyy to embarrassing. What if one of his friends saw him!? I reply that he has to be more daring, not worry so much what other people think and enjoy these unexpected experiences when they pop up. Besides, it’s only a quick photograph. (I am sure these words will come back to haunt me when he is a teenager.)

Sure enough, the peanut mobile was still there when we were finished with our shopping and Mr. Peanut was standing on the sidewalk posing for free photos. I am excited! This is going on my blog! and I am suddenly walking/jogging over to Mr. Peanut. Evan is looking at me like I am CRAZY.

We wait our turn, as there were other parents there with kids, and in the few minutes we waited you could see the whole thing was kind of fun. Other kids, older kids, were there getting their photo taken and laughing with Mr. Peanut – sort of making fun but enjoying it too, as teenagers do. Evan saw this and relaxed. He was actually really good about it when it was our turn. He posed with Mr. Peanut, who I noticed had a pretty good sense of humor, and was okay with the photos going up on the blog for all to see.